A bureaucratic 1899 racial label unlocked citizenship for Syrians under the White-only naturalization law

Evidence

As Syrians’ ties to the United States strengthened, they sought citizenship because it bestowed multiple benefits, including the ability to travel easily between the United States and Syria and the right to purchase property, own businesses, and vote. However, the Naturalization Act of 1790 limited naturalization to free White persons, of good character, and living in the United States for two years. After the Bureau of Immigration legally categorized Syrians and Palestinians as Caucasian in its 1899 racial classifications, they had little difficulty naturalizing. — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 533

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to whiteness-as-property literature (Cheryl Harris) where the legal category of whiteness functions as a material right conferring citizenship and property access.